Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a support member connection mechanism and an electrical apparatus including the same (for example, an image forming apparatus such as a copier, a multifunction peripheral (MFP), a printer, and a facsimile machine).
Description of the Related Art
Electrical apparatuses, such as image forming apparatuses, typically include electrical parts including: a power source or a power source board such as a transformer from which power is supplied; an operation part such as a motor that is operated by the power from the power source board; and a control board that controls the operations performed by the operation part. These electrical parts such as a power source, a power source board, an operation part, and a control board are connected to each other via a wiring member (for example, a connection electric wire such as a cable harness or an optical fiber cable). For example, the wiring member connects between the power source and the power source board, between the power source board and the operation part, and between the control board and the operation part.
Some electrical apparatuses include an electrical apparatus main body and a movable member (for example, a slide movable member or an opening/closing member) that is movable relative to the electrical apparatus main body. The electrical parts may be provided to both the electrical apparatus main body and the movable member.
In such an electrical apparatus, the movable member moves relative to the electrical apparatus main body. Thus, the electrical part in the electrical apparatus main body and the electrical part in the movable member are generally connected to each other in the following manner. Specifically, the wiring member on the side of the electrical apparatus main body and the wiring member on the side of the movable member are connected to each other through contact between terminals in connectors such as drawer connectors.
The configuration using the connector for connecting between the electrical part in the electrical apparatus main body and the electrical part in the movable member, involves a high cost and the problem that the conductivity and durability degrade as a result of repeating the contact and separation between the terminals in the connector due to the movement of the movable member.
In view of the above, a support member connection mechanism disclosed in Japanese Translation of PCT International Application Publication No. JP-T-2000-502557 includes: a plurality of support members that are arranged side by side along the longitudinal direction of the wiring member and support the wiring member; and a junction that couples between two adjacent ones of the plurality of support members, in such a manner that the support members can be bent on one side about a rotation axis.
Thus, the support member connection mechanism disclosed in Japanese Translation of PCT International Application Publication No. JP-T-2000-502557 connects between the electrical part in the electrical apparatus main body and the electrical part in the movable member, without using the connector. Thus, a low cost can be achieved, and improved conductivity and durability can be achieved because the wiring member is constantly in the connection state.
In the conventional support member connection mechanism, the wiring member is covered in a bent side junction area including an area of the junction on a bent side of the two adjacent support members coupled in such a manner as to be bendable in one side in the junction. Thus, there are the following problems.
FIG. 23A, FIG. 23B, FIG. 24A, and FIG. 24B are each a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a state of a wiring member C as a result of opening/closing two adjacent support members 210X and 220X in a conventional support member connection mechanism 200X.
FIG. 23A illustrates an example where the wiring member C is not slacked when the two adjacent support members 210X and 220X are open. FIG. 23B illustrates a state where the two adjacent support members 210X and 220X, in the example illustrated in FIG. 23A, are closed.
FIG. 24A illustrates an example where the wiring member C is slacked when the two adjacent support members 210X and 220X are open. FIG. 24B illustrates a state where the two adjacent support members 210X and 220X, in the example illustrated in FIG. 24A, are closed.
In the conventional support member connection mechanism 200X, as illustrated in FIG. 23A and FIG. 23B, the wiring member C is covered in a bent side junction area 201X including an area of the junction on the bent side of the two support members 210X and 220X, in adjacent portions 211X and 221X, adjacent to each other, as portions of the two adjacent support members 210X and 220X coupled to each other via a rotation shaft 230X serving as the junction (in this example, the wiring member C passes through a side of the rotation shaft 230X opposite to the bent side of the rotation shaft 230X). Thus, when the wiring member C is not slacked in the state where the support members 210X and 220X are open (see FIG. 23A), the wiring member C is pulled when the support members 210X and 220X are closed (see FIG. 23B). As a result, the wiring member C is stretched when the two support members 210X and 220X are closed, and thus the support members 210X and 220X can only be closed by an amount corresponding to a slightly slack amount of the wiring member C, and the support members 210X and 220X can be closed further.
This is because the length of the wiring member C is insufficient by a length corresponding to an amount of increase from a length of central path (L1+L2) of the two support members 210X and 220X in the closed state (see FIG. 23B) to the length of central path (L1+L2) of the support members 210X and 220X in the open state (see FIG. 23A).
The problem is serious especially in a configuration where the wiring member C is unmovable or approximately unmovable in the longitudinal direction L of the wiring member C relative to the support members 210X and 220X, when the two support members 210X and 220X are opened/closed.
FIG. 24A and FIG. 24B illustrate a configuration overcoming this problem. More specifically, the wiring member C is slacked in the state where the two adjacent support members 210X and 220X are open (see FIG. 24A), whereby the two support members 210X and 220X can be closed with no hindrance (see FIG. 24B).
When the wiring member C is slacked in the state where the two support members 210X and 220X are open as described above, an extra portion C1 of the wiring member C is pushed out from an opposite side junction area 202X including an area of the junction on a side opposite to the bent side of the support members 210X and 220X, when the support members 210X and 220X are open (see FIG. 24A). Thus, there is a problem in that the portion C1 of the wiring member C that has been pushed out might be in the way of the user operating the electrical apparatus at a portion near the support member connection mechanism 200X, and that the wiring member C might be broken.
In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a support member connection mechanism in which two adjacent support members can be closed with no hindrance, and problems such as breaking of a wiring member can be prevented when the two adjacent support members are open, and to provide an electrical apparatus including the support member connection mechanism.